Dodgers Sale to Magic Johnson Group Completed

The $2 billion sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers to Guggenheim Baseball Management, a group that includes former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson, was completed on Tuesday, the team announced.

Mark Walter, chief executive of financial services firm Guggenheim Partners, becomes the controlling owner of the Dodgers, and the team will be run by former Atlanta Braves President Stan Kasten.

“The Dodgers move forward with confidence in a strong financial position as a premier Major League Baseball franchise and as an integral part of and representative of the Los Angeles community," the new ownership group said in a statement.

The sale enables the team to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which former owner Frank McCourt had put the franchise into last June after Major League Baseball assumed control of the club’s day-to-day operations.

The sale had been expected to close on Monday, the same day McCourt was to make a $131 million payment to former wife Jamie McCourt as part of their divorce settlement. Jamie McCourt received her payout on Monday and Guggenheim said all claims in the Chapter 11 filing will be paid.

“The Dodgers move forward with confidence in a strong financial position as a premier Major League Baseball franchise and as an integral part of and representative of the Los Angeles community," said the new ownership group in a statement.